Springfield Falcons lose at home to Portland Pirates

Republican photo by DAVE ROBACKSpringfield Falcons' Charles Linglet, left, beats Portland Pirates' Nathan Gerbe to the puck during Sunday's game at Springfield.SPRINGFIELD – The Atlantic Division standings are much like the New England weather – they can change on a daily basis.
Just ask the Springfield Falcons, who begin the week three points out of first place and ended it tied for last.
So it goes in the ever-changing American Hockey League, where the Falcons dropped a 3-2 decision to the Portland Pirates Sunday afternoon before 2,472 fans at the MassMutual Center.
“We had to work hard to beat a team that is missing some of their premier players,” Portland coach Kevin Dineen said.
Help may be on the way soon to the Falcons (on a 0-3-1 slide) from the parent Edmonton Oilers.
“We had been getting points in most of their games,” Falcons coach Rob Daum said. “The key is not to go on a long streak without getting points.”
Not looking weary when they were playing the final 20 minutes of a four games in four nights stretch, the Falcons outshot the Pirates 17-5 in the last period.
But goalie Jhonas Enroth came up big during the third period. He made 17 saves and was at his best in the waning seconds when the Falcons pulled goalie Aaron Sorochan and applied heavy pressure.
The Falcons are 10-9-3-2, tied for last, but only seven points from first.
“Every team’s going through this where they work hard and have nothing to show for it,” Daum said. “The key is to not get discouraged.”
Felix Schutz took advantage of a Springfield breakdown late in the second period to score the go-ahead goal. Three Falcon players, Bryan Lerg and defensemen Bryan Young and Jake Taylor were all behind the net, but somehow, Brad Larsen was able to gain control.
Larsen delivered a pass from behind to an all-alone Schutz, who picked his spot and beat Sorochan at 14:50 to provide the Pirates with a 3-2 lead.
That goal came a little more than two minutes after the Falcons tied the game at two apiece. Theo Peckham started the play when he hit a streaking Liam Reddox with a lead pass.
Reddox, just back from a nine-game stint in the NHL with the parent Edmonton Oilers, raced in. He used his speed to move around defenseman Mike Weber and fire a wrist shot past Jhonas Enroth.
The Pirates dominated the first period. Schulz scored the game’s first goal 38 seconds into the game to give the Pirates an early boost. After Sorochan stopped a shot by Marc-Andre Gragani, Schultz seized the rebound and scored to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
The Pirates held the Falcons to one shot on goal during a full, two-minute power play caused by a too-many-men-on-the-ice call and a slashing infraction to Brad Larsen.
Paul Byron gave the Pirates a 2-0 edge when he scored during a power play at 15:32 of the first period.
But it took the Falcons only 15 seconds to answer the goal. Cody Wild hit Colton Fretter with a pass from the right side and Fretter fired a slap shot past Enroth.
FALCON FODDER: The Falcons lost Geoff Paukovich to a dislocated shoulder in the second period. Reddox was back with the Falcons because had he played his 10th game in Edmonton, he would have needed to clear NHL waivers before the Oilers could sent him back to the AHL ... His replacement, Colin McDonald, scored his first NHL goal Saturday night against Vancouver. That’s more than his father, Gerry, who a former North Adams State defenseman, had in eight NHL games with the Hartford Whalers. Devan Dubnyk also saw action in that game.